Worth the replay?

Saturday, May 9's games ranked by how good they turned out to be: late drama, comebacks, lead swaps and overtime. No scores, no winners, so you can decide what to watch without spoilers.

Best games of the season →

#1
PistonsatCavaliers
NBA· NBC/PeacockDown to the wire
B
65/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension30/30
Swings24/25
Comeback10/20
Decided late15/15
Back-and-forth8/10
Drama 86 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 65
#2
ThunderatLakers
NBA· ABC
D
20/100
▸ Why this grade
Late tension2/30
Swings16/25
Comeback2/20
Decided late0/15
Back-and-forth8/10
Drama 27 × pre-game weight 0.75 (pre-game Watchability 50, estimated) = 20

Ranked from each game's win probability as it was played (ESPN's for football and basketball; ours, from the goals, for hockey): how in doubt it was near the end, how far the winner came back from, how late it was decided, how big its momentum swings were and how often a team erased a deficit, with a bonus for overtime. That drama is then weighted by how good a matchup it was going in (its pre-game Watchability score), so a thriller between top teams ranks above an equally wild game between minor ones.